Personality questionnaires, when used to their best advantage, help employers make the right hiring decision and improve motivation among current employees. They are usually employed alongside other sources of information about the candidate, such as ability tests, interviews and occupational-interest inventories.

Below is a sample of the questions you might have to answer (the real ones are much longer). They will help you to understand what your typical behaviour is and how you feel about certain things. These questions are designed to assess your level of liveliness. Each question has a numbered scale, from one to four. For each, choose the number that best fits how you feel. Only give answers that are true for you – there are no right or wrong ones.

Don't spend too much time thinking over any one question.

1 I like entertaining a group of people:

1 Never

2 Rarely

3 Sometimes

4 Often

2 My friends describe me as:

1 Very quiet

2 Fairly quiet

3 Fairly energetic

4 Very energetic

3 I act rapidly when I face a problem or a difficulty:

1 Never

2 Rarely

3 Sometimes

4 Often

4 I'm the sort of person who enjoys telling jokes and funny stories:

1 Never

2 Rarely

3 Sometimes

4 Often

To work out your rating, add up the numbers you chose for each question.

Rating between 4 and 8: you are more likely to be serious, cautious and subdued in relating to others.

Rating between 9 and 11: you show no strong tendency towards either side.

Rating between 12 and 16: you are likely to be more lively, animated, spontaneous and exuberant in interacting with others.

"Knowing your level of liveliness can be useful for you and employers," says Catherine Lannoy of business psychology firm OPP. "By matching an individual's personality with a particular job, employers and employees benefit through increased satisfaction and motivation for the work they do.

"Personalities with a high level of liveliness are often suited to roles where enthusiasm, energy and simultaneous attention to many tasks are needed – for example in management, sales or artistic positions. Those with a low level of liveliness often perform best in roles where concentration and steady, careful attention to ongoing tasks are needed – for example in investigative roles such as scientist and engineer, or production positions."